III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 261 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the crisis of Hurricane Katrina 

should not be used to weaken, waive, or roll back Federal public health, 

environmental, and environmental justice laws and regulations, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. REID, Mr. OBAMA, Mrs. BOXER, 

and Mr. JEFFORDS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the crisis of Hurricane Katrina should not be used to weaken, waive, or 

roll back Federal public health, environmental, and environmental justice laws and regulations, and for other 

purposes. 

Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Region 

on August 29, 2005, destroying property, causing massive floods, and resulting in more than $35,000,000,000 

in insured property losses and over 1,000 deaths; 

Whereas expeditiously rebuilding those areas affected by 

Hurricane Katrina and providing the victims of the storm 

with normalcy and relief must be the top priorities for 

Congress; 
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•SRES 261 IS

Whereas Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff 

recently commented, ‘‘We are going to have to clean 

probably the greatest environmental mess we have ever 

seen in the country as a result of Hurricane Katrina’’; 

Whereas Hurricane Katrina demonstrates the connection between the health and safety of communities and the 

health of natural resources; 

Whereas many of the hardest hit areas in New Orleans and 

the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina were low-income 

and minority communities already facing decades of environmental injustices; 

Whereas at least 9 major oil spills, and scores of smaller oil 

and hazardous substance spills, leaks, and other releases 

have occurred; 

Whereas 60 underground storage tanks, hazardous waste 

storage facilities, and industrial facilities, and 5 Superfund sites in New Orleans were hit by Hurricane 

Katrina, yet monitoring reported to date has only been 

conducted at a handful of sites for a limited number of 

contaminants; 

Whereas nearly 1,000 drinking-water systems were disabled 

or impaired because of power outages or structural damage, many people have been told to boil their water, and 

safe drinking water may not be available for the entire 

population for years to come; 

Whereas the Environmental Protection Agency’s initial water 

quality tests found that flood water in New Orleans contains 10 times more E. Coli bacteria than the Agency 

considers safe for human contact and lead concentrations 

that exceed drinking water standards, and the mix of 
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•SRES 261 IS

contaminants poses a serious disease risk to those wading 

through the filthy water; 

Whereas proper implementation and enforcement of Federal 

public health and environmental regulations are necessary 

to protect human health, especially among vulnerable 

populations, and are necessary in times of emergency to 

ensure that the response to a disaster does not exacerbate the initial impact; 

Whereas major industrial facilities and toxic waste sites disproportionately impact low-income individuals, minorities, 

children, the elderly, and all underserved communities; 

Whereas more than 1 in 4 Americans, including 10,000,000 

children, live within 4 miles of a Superfund site, which 

poses serious public health issues when sites are not 

cleaned up adequately and in a timely manner; 

Whereas the health of low-income and minority communities 

continues to suffer, largely because of the cumulative impact of all sources of pollution on public health in the 

acute impact area and the failure to consider cumulative 

impacts upon siting of new industrial facilities and cleanup of existing toxic communities; 

Whereas the addition of poor environmental protection and 

enforcement to existing health vulnerabilities has only exacerbated the conditions in these communities, which 

often suffer from higher rates of illness and death in 

comparison with middle-class, suburban, and more affluent communities; 

Whereas Federal public health and environmental laws provide many opportunities to address environmental risks 

and hazards in minority and low-income communities if 

applied and implemented; 
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•SRES 261 IS

Whereas Executive Order 12898 states that each Federal 

agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of 

its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, 

disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations; 

Whereas in 2005, the Congress passed and President Bush 

signed into law (Public Law 109–54) language prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from using 

appropriated funds to work in contravention of Executive 

Order 12898 and further delay the implementation of 

this Order, which is critical to achieving environmental 

and health equity across all community lines; 

Whereas environmental cleanup of affected areas must be 

done in an effective and timely manner to ensure the victims of Hurricane Katrina can return to their homes 

without enduring preventable environmental or health 

risks; and 

Whereas weakening, waiving, and rolling back Federal public 

health and environmental protections would further 

threaten the heavily-damaged area of the Gulf Coast, 

negatively impact the public health of the already mostaffected communities, and put public health and the environment at greater future risk at the expense of all communities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the crisis of Hurricane Katrina and other 

3 such disasters should not be used to weaken, waive, 

4 or roll back Federal public health, environmental, 

5 and environmental justice laws and regulations; 
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•SRES 261 IS

1 (2) State, local, and regional authorities must 

2 retain their authority for compliance and permitting 

3 of industrial and other facilities, and their role in 

4 enforcing and implementing monitoring and cleanup 

5 regulations; 

6 (3) testing, monitoring, cleanup, and recovery 

7 in the region hit by Hurricane Katrina and other 

8 areas of national emergency— 

9 (A) should be completed in a manner de10 signed to protect public health and the environ11 ment and ensure habitability of the region and 

12 mitigate against the effects of future storms; 

13 and 

14 (B) should be carried out in compliance 

15 with Executive Order 12898; and 

16 (4) the Federal rebuilding of communities and 

17 the economy of the Gulf Region should be a model 

18 of the integrated, diverse, and sustainable society 

19 that all people in the United States desire and de20 serve. 

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